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Hollywood's very own chameleon, Johnny Depp, has been the go-to guy for every weird, gothic and unconventional film.
The American actor, producer and musician has become one of the world's biggest film stars. His artistic integrity and at times the heartthrob persona helped him evolve into a superstar all because of his unconventional character-actor roles that sparked his imagination.
The many faces of Johnny Depp: 5 epic roles
Johnny Depp began his career as a teen heartthrob in films like A Nightmare on Elm Street and the hit TV show 21 Jump Street. He quickly graduated to leading roles, giving out iconic performances. Many of Depp’s most colorful roles are due to his decades-long collaborative relationship with auteur filmmaker Tim Burton.
From 2000 to 2010, Johnny Depp's career was at its peak and even though his career has seen some tumultuous developments in recent years as well as considerable legal troubles, there is no denying that he has built himself an impressive portfolio.
The actor is undoubtedly one of the industry's best actors and has given impressive performances one after the other. Let's take a look at Johnny Depp's iconic roles.
1) Captain Jack Sparrow
The internet's pirate captain, Jack Sparrow, was portrayed by Johnny Depp for over 14 years (2003-2017) in the films Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Depp's career wasn't the same after he crossed paths with this character, making it his greatest role ever and also the greatest character in the history of cinema. According to Depp, he was inspired by Keith Richards as his character is perpetually drunk, oddly effeminate and a lustful train-wreck. But he is also the smartest pirate in existence and the luckiest.
Captain Jack Sparrow will no doubt be Johnny Depp's everlasting legacy, making this character as iconic as Indiana Jones. The first film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, holds an IMDb rating of 8.0 with a score of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.
2) Edward Scissorhands
The Frankenstein-inspired fairytale was the first time Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton came together to play dress-up, making a place for themselves in Hollywood royalty and becoming an iconic duo. Edward Scissorhands was nothing but about a man with literal scissors for hands with wacky hair, a tight suit and a ghostly complexion.
Depp played Edward with such innocence and purity that it was bound to break hearts. Vincent Price’s inventor character created him and raised him through fairy tales, poetry, and etiquette, and all Edward ever wanted was to fit in and just be magical.
Edward Scissorhands was released in 1990 and holds an IMDb rating of 7.9 with a score of 90%.
3) Willy Wonka
The controversial remake of the 1971 classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was jam-packed with witty sight gags and cheekiness which somewhere surpassed the original. Depp yet again gave an outstanding performance as the chocolatier Willy Wonka.
His character was a grown man in a state of arrested development, his personality stemming from a complicated relationship with his father, Wilbur, a prominent dentist. Depp received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his role as Willy Wonka.
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised Depp's performance:
"Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka may be a stone freak, but he is also one of Burton's classic crackpot conjurers, like Beetlejuice or Ed Wood."
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory holds an IMDb rating of 6.7 and a score of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.
4) Mad Hatter/ Tarrant Hightopp
One of the greatest transformations to ever be seen, Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter/Tarrant Hightopp surpassed Willy Wonka. The Mad Hatter was a grotesque-looking creature with a nightmarish vibe to him, but that's where Depp dialed the eccentricities all the way up. An incredibly over-the-top performance, Mad Hatter became a definite historic character for Depp.
While the film does have its shortcomings, it has never felt like a carbon copy of the animated version, as it has successfully carved out its own unique visual identity — crucially giving Depp's inspired Mad Hatter much more to do than just host an insane tea party.
Alice in Wonderland holds an IMDb rating of 6.4 and a score of 51% on Rotten Tomatoes.
5) Gellert Grindelwald
Johnny Depp's Grindelwald was one of the most iconic characters in the history of cinema. His character appeared towards the end of the first installment and took full authoritarian power in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Grindelwald's vibe was much like Voldemort and was probably the best part of the film, which felt frustratingly cluttered and wildly incomprehensible.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Depp spoke about how he would read the books and watch the films with his kids, eventually finding the Gellert Grindelwald character "fascinating and complex."
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald holds an IMDb rating of 6.5 and a score of 36% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Honorary mentions include Tonto in The Lone Ranger, Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sands in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland, Edward D. Wood, Jr. in Ed Wood, Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows and Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow.
Stream these iconic roles of Johnny Depp on Netflix, Prime Video and Hotstar.
